Tag Archives: jerky

I’ve tried a lot of beef jerky brands in my day. My current favorite is People’s Choice. They’ve been making premium beef jerky since 1929, it’s handcrafted, family owned, and it’s made with 100% USA beef. They have a few different flavors, but Hot & Spicy is the best one. It’s hot and spicy like the name implies, but it’s not overly powerful. It goes great with a cold beer.

People’s Choice stands out because they cut their jerky really thin. It’s more like a sheet of jerky than a typical strip of jerky. It’s not as moist as some other brands but it’s not too dried out. It’s the perfect balance of meat and spice. Every time I offer someone a piece, they ask for another as soon as they finish. I’m torn because I want people to try it but I want it all for myself at the same time. I figured it might be easier to write about how good it is, sing its praises, and try to convince you to buy your own. The people have spoken, they’ve decided: it’s People’s Choice.

I kind of wish that I didn’t read what was in it before I opened it. It looks processed and greasy and it smells how it looks. The thick skin gives it a little crunch and texture and the filling is kind of mushy. The spiciness kicks in a after a few bites and gets more intense after you swallow it. The spiciness lingers for a while too so make sure you have something to drink with it. I actually like it. It goes great with a couple of brews and the game on. Real jerky is always better but sometimes you feel like a processed snack stick.

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Slim Jim Tabasco takes the processed smoked snack stick you know and love and combines it with the spicy pepper sauce that you also know and love. It gives the meat stick an extra kick. It’s pretty good actually. I like it more than other Slim Jim flavors. It’s not extremely spicy but it makes you sweat a little bit. Real jerky is a thousand times better, but sometimes real jerky is not available. That’s when you grab a Slim Jim. And if you’re grabbing a Slim Jim, try the Tabasco infused one. As long as you’re settling for an inferior product, you might as well make it a superior inferior product. That’s what Slim Jim Tabasco is. A superior inferior product. That makes sense if you think about it long enough.

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Bacon is delicious. Jerky is delicious. It was inevitable that eventually the two superfoods would meet and create a delicious hybrid. I’ve been wanting to try bacon jerky for a while now and Slim Jim is an established presence on the dried meat market, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I opened the bag and took a deep whiff. I smelled the bacon, I smelled the sweet maple and the stale musk of jerky. I also smelled dog food… maybe Purina or Alpo, I’m not quite sure. But it was defiantely dog food. Oh well, I came to try bacon jerky, so I’m going to try bacon jerky damn it! Each piece looks like bacon, albeit the crumpled broken buffet table remnants leftover from a hungry breakfast crowd at a three star hotel. It smells like bacon, it looks like bacon, and it tastes like bacon. But it’s not bacon. It’s bacon jerky. Don’t get the two confused. It’s a little more jerky-like than bacon and more bacon-like than jerky. Try it and see for yourself. All in all, I’m not overly impressed with it but maybe that’s just because Slim Jim isn’t a gourmet brand per se. They are more in the beef stick business as opposed to jerky. This was a decent introduction to the world of bacon jerky, yet I’m sure other people make bacon jerky better and I’m determined to find them.

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I picked up a bag of Chef’s Cut Real Chicken Jerky Roasted Red Chili when I was at the store today. I’ve never heard of Chef’s Cut, I’ve never had a Roasted Red Chili flavor before, and I’ve never had chicken jerky before either. That’s all changed now. It looks and smells like beef jerky, with the fowl, crumbly texture of turkey jerky. The Roasted Red Chili flavor is pretty muted with a slight spicy kick. It’s a disappointing jerky. It’s too bland and dry. I noticed that it’s gluten free. Maybe it would have tasted better with some gluten. I’ll try other varieties of Chef’s Cut jerky, but I think I’m over the chicken jerky. Not a good first impression.

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7-Select is 7-Eleven’s store brand name and they make a bunch of different products, beef jerky being one of them. 7-Select Peppered Beef Jerky is comparable to Oberto or Jack Link’s. It doesn’t taste as good, but it’s cheaper and being cheap saves you money. It’s not a bad jerky. I’ve had worse and I’ve had better, but it’s still satisfactory. It’s not dry or crumbly and it’s not juicy and moist. It’s pretty average and that’s all you expect from a store brand. It’s cheap and edible and gets the job done. It’s only $4.99 for 3-ounce bag, which is a pretty decent deal. You save a few bucks and you can use that money to get a Slurpee, some candy, or a couple of lotto tickets. And if you win the lotto, you don’t have to buy 7-Select products anymore.

Stonewall’s Jerquee is a brand of vegetarian jerky. Yeah, they make vegetarian jerky. I don’t know why. It doesn’t make any sense to me. And when I saw such a bullshit product, I had to buy it to try it. They have a few different flavors of fake jerky and I decided to go with Original Mild, because why not. I just opened the bag and I’m already regretting this purchase. It comes in little pieces rounded pieces that look somewhat like meat, but with a funky smell that’s reminiscent of cheap dog food. I just took a bite. It tastes like dog food. It’s like a chewy, slightly moist kibble. It’s disgusting. I had to spit it out. I would have vomited if I actually swallowed it. There is no reason why a product like this should be allowed to exist. It’s foul, it’s revolting, and it’s completely unnecessary. Don’t ever buy this shit, not even out of curiosity. It’s the worst thing in the history of the world.

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Pineapple Orange is yet another one of Krave’s gourmet jerkys. This is a very sweet and fruity beef jerky, as you would expect. It smells citrusy, but the odor of cooked pineapple can’t be ignored. It’s reminiscent of a holiday dinner, with meat and fruit scents fighting for your nose’s attention. The jerky is not as moist as I expected, it was pretty dry and slightly crumbly around the edges. It smells better than it tastes. It’s kind of dull on the taste buds, plus it was really dry and hard to chew. It takes like it’s past the sell by date but it’s not. This was a disappointing purchase. Krave has a lot of jerky verities that are better than this one, but this is one of the flavors you should avoid.

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Krave is a brand of gourmet jerky from Sonoma, California. Lemon Garlic Turkey Jerky is just one of their many unique offerings. Most of the time I prefer beef jerky over turkey jerky, but I’m not opposed to turkey jerky by any means. And I really enjoy the fact that turkey jerky rhymes. But I digress… my initial response upon opening the bag was being amazed at how moist and tender the jerky was. All the pieces stick together, but they pull apart easily. It’s sweeter and less salty than most jerky, and not really spicy at all. The lemon and garlic flavors are well balanced, but the jerky leaves a greasy residue on your fingers, similar to some potato chips. It loses a few points for the finger residue, but this is a good jerky.

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Krave is a brand of gourmet jerky. They make beef jerky, they make turkey jerky, and they make dried meat in different flavors. Most jerky flavors are the same. You have original, you have a hot & spicy, and you have a teriyaki. Krave’s Chili Lime Beef Jerky is a unique flavor, and that’s what initially caught my eye. I detect a spicy-hot flavor from the chili powder, and it’s offset by the zesty and citric lime flavor. It’s a nice complimentary flavor. You might sweat a little, but it’s the perfect amount of spicy. The jerky itself is thick cut, moist and tender. It’s the kind of jerky that you want to share so that other people can experience it, but it’s so good that you want to keep it all for yourself. Krave makes gourmet jerky, and jerky is the new microbrew. It’s going to blow up. There will be more brands, more flavors, and a huge market for jerky products. You can eat it in the car, on the trail, as a snack, or as a survival food. I will repost this article in five years, and you will see that I’m right in all my jerky predictions.

Beef Jerky is awesome if you’re a carnivore. Dried piece of cow flesh in flavors like smoked, peppered, and teriyaki? Yes, please. You can buy Jack Link’s or other brands of beef jerky at the store, but homemade beef jerky is where it’s at. All you need is a food dehydrator, meat, and a creative recipe. Anything made at home will taste better than anything you buy. Homemade beef jerky is amazingly delicious. Just to clarify, when I say homemade, I mean when my mom makes it.